The door was bolted, and the windows were tightly shut.
She even propped a heavy chair behind the door, though she knew it was likely just futile psychological comfort.
With a thought, a small Swiss army knife appeared in her palm.
There were actually more formidable items in the space.
Several handguns, even rifles, all brand new and gleaming.
Unfortunately, she had no idea how to use them.
Her nominal father, the chairman of the Su Group, had painstakingly tried to teach his daughter a few self-defense moves.
After all, she was the sole heir, and some basic safety awareness was necessary.
How had the original owner responded to that?
It seemed she found it too noisy, or perhaps she was afraid of dirtying her newly done nails?
Her father doted on her and ultimately couldn't bring himself to force her.
Now, she was completely defenseless.
She didn't take off her tracksuit, lying on the bed fully clothed.
Sleep was nowhere to be found.
Fear, like a tide, repeatedly crashed against her nerves.
Lu Shiyan in the basement would awaken his ability tonight and come for her revenge; in the original novel, it was today that she was thrown into the zombie horde.
After an unknown amount of time, amidst the intertwining of extreme exhaustion and fear, Su Wan's consciousness gradually blurred, and she fell into a shallow, restless sleep.
Her dream was a chaotic mess, filled with blood and desperate screams.
"Click."
An extremely faint, almost imperceptible sound, abruptly echoed in the deathly silent room.
It sounded like some kind of metal colliding.
Su Wan's eyes snapped open, her heart instantly leaping into her throat!
She held her breath, lying motionless on the bed, every muscle in her body stiff with tension.
"Creak—"
An extremely slow, dragging sound began.
It was the door!
Su Wan's pupils suddenly constricted, and all the blood in her body seemed to freeze at that moment!
The chair she had propped behind the door was being silently moved, little by little, from the outside!
Her gaze was fixed intently on the closed bedroom door.
In the darkness, the doorknob was turning, extremely slowly, little by little.
Soundlessly.
Yet, it carried a suffocating sense of oppression.
Su Wan dared not make a sound.
It was him!
He had come!
She practically scrambled off the bed, using both hands and feet, rolling to the other side of the bed, her back pressed tightly against the cold wall, her knuckles white from gripping the Swiss army knife, her palms slick with cold sweat.
The door was pushed open a crack.
A slender yet tall black figure stood outside the door.
The hallway lights were off, and there was no moonlight outside the window, only a deep, heavy darkness.
The figure blended into the darkness, like a vengeful demon crawled out of hell.
He didn't come in immediately; he just stood there quietly.
Su Wan could even feel his cold gaze, filled with palpable hatred, piercing through the darkness and landing precisely on her.
Time seemed to freeze.
Every second stretched out like a century.
Su Wan bit down hard on her lower lip, preventing a scream of terror from escaping.
Then, the figure moved.
He pushed open the door and stepped into the room.
As he entered, a faint, rust-like scent of blood, mixed with the unique foul odor of the cell, permeated the air.
He was still wearing his tattered shirt, stained with dried and fresh blood.
The wounds on his face and arms were still gruesome, but in the dim light, they appeared even more shocking.
He was not bound by chains.
The iron chains that had held him captive for so long were gone.
He was free.
Lu Shiyan stood in the center of the room, turning his head slightly.
In the darkness, his eyes glowed strikingly, like two burning ghost fires, devoid of any warmth, only cold, undisguised killing intent and hatred, firmly locked onto Su Wan, who was curled up by the bed.
He approached step by step, each step like a heavy, fatal tread on Su Wan's heart.
The darkness blurred his expression, but it magnified the almost tangible murderous aura emanating from him.
"Su Wan."
His voice was even hoarser than it had been in the basement, carrying a chilling coldness.
Su Wan's mind went blank, leaving only the instinct to flee.
But her body seemed to be nailed to the spot, unable to move.
"Do you think," Lu Shiyan stopped a few steps in front of her, tilting his head slightly as if enjoying his prey's final struggle, "that fabricating a lie will allow you to survive?"
His tone was very calm, terrifyingly calm, as if stating an established fact.
He raised his hand, and Su Wan could even see dried, dark red bloodstains still on his fingertips.
Those were left when he broke free from the chains.
"No... it's not a lie!" In her fear, Su Wan's voice was sharp and trembling, almost cracking, "It's true! It's true!"
"Heh." Lu Shiyan let out a scoff, full of undisguised contempt, "Even now, you're still acting?"
He took a step forward, instantly closing the distance.
The strong smell of blood and dangerous aura assailed Su Wan, almost suffocating her.
"I didn't!" Su Wan suddenly looked up, tears welling in her eyes, but she held them back.
She looked at his terrifyingly bright eyes in the darkness and shouted with all her might: "Lu Shiyan! If you kill me, you'll be personally killing your own child!"
This sentence was like a clap of thunder, briefly halting Lu Shiyan's movements.
The almost boiling killing intent around him seemed to freeze for a moment.
His dark eyes suddenly fixed on Su Wan, as if to see through her.
"Child?" Lu Shiyan's voice rose a few decibels, with a nearly insane mockery, "Do you think such a ridiculous lie will make me spare your life?"
He took a large stride forward, his tall figure enveloping Su Wan, who was curled up in the corner, exuding immense pressure.
"Do you think I would believe that a vicious woman like you would be pregnant with my child?" His voice deepened, every word seemingly laced with poison, "Stop deceiving yourself, Su Wan."
Su Wan felt a chill run from her head to her toes.
The killing intent in his eyes was even more intense than before, as if her lie had completely enraged him.
"It's not a lie!" She gritted her teeth, her voice a little sharp from extreme tension, "I have no reason to lie to you! That night... you didn't take precautions..."
"Precautions?" Lu Shiyan coldly interrupted her, "Didn't you drug me?"